THE WINES 1986 Ridge
Park-Muscatine Zinfandel ATP |
We didn’t waste any time getting right down to tasting, once we’d taken pictures of the assembled bottles. We started with the Ridge Park-Muscatine ATP, a dark garnet with just a touch of rust, courtesy of califusa. This is still a brawny wine with a lot of tannin. I got a warm plum/zinberry/hint o’ barnyard/leather nose from this, while Canadian Zinfan noted cocoa and white pepper. The ‘deauxnut mentioned mint and tea, and we all commented on the lack of "Draper perfume" in this. That quality would emerge with lots of air, though never as much as in a Mr. Ridge from Sonoma or Paso Robles. C.Z. also found it jammier, with added hints of cardomon seed aromas. On the palate, this has a Rhone-ish plum component, with a nice creamy mid-palate. Bree and this taster agreed that the fruit is drying on the finish, which detracted somewhat. The ‘87 Howell Mountain is a charming wine according to Bree, made mostly from Beatty fruit. Dark garnet with a hint of brick, I noted a bit of the barnyard and a hint of sulfurous burnt matchstick that receded with air to play a nice role in the complexity of the wine. Mature, with good acidity, this features lovely notes of plum/cigar box/cedary spice, without much "Draper perfume." C.Z. and Zinchick likened it to an aged Cotes de Nuits, while B.D. and I found it rather Bordeaux-like. (‘deauxnut would continue to come back to this throughout the afternoon and evening, as long as it lasted.) Bree says this is in that 3rd phase in the evolution of fine Zins, with the fruit fading a bit and advanced spice and cedar elements coming to the fore. We all agreed that it is absolutely beautiful. The ‘90 Howell Mountain is a dark garnet that reminded Zinchick of nail polish remover and turpentine, though others’ opinions were less harsh. Like the first two, it continued to open and improve for as long as it lasted. The Zinfan said that this is less complex than the first two wines, though there was obviously more fruit. There was also a bit more Brett in it, but with air, it took its place in the greater whole. There are still good tannins and acidity here, with lots of dark black raspberry/blackberry/plum/pepper/ spice flavors and aromas, and yes, that "Eau de Draper" eventually makes itself known. A very satisfying Ridge Zin. The ‘91 Beatty ATP is another dark garnet with more fruit on the nose than the other three, and more apparent "perfume," as well. There’s a hint of burnt matchstick to it as well, but this blows off. It has good acidity and tannins, with nice black raspberry/black cherry characteristics. C.Z. said "It tastes like a 'Lola'," whatever the hell that is. The four of these give an excellent example of what Howell Mountain Zins are all about; hard and tannic in their yout’, but showing increasing complexity and charm as they mature. We gave them thumbs up all around. At that point, we adjourned to "Lac du ‘deauxnut," for a nice long swim, then returned to the scene of the crime to continue with our tasting. The ‘95 Vigil is the lightest of all the wines tasted on this occasion, with a ruby garnet color and medium body. It is reminiscent of raspberry and strawberry, with a soda-like nuance of something like rock ‘n’ rye. The Zinfan thought it tastes like bubblegum, adding that it had "lots of pepper and alcohol." A nice enough wine, I suppose, but clearly out of its league here.
As we sat down to Mrs. B.D.’s terrific 1 lb. BBQ pork chops and grilled veggies, the ‘95 Turley Black-Sears was poured, and received oohs and aahs all around. Typically dark garnet, with creamy oak/vanilla and that dense, Turley reduced raspberry sauce thang on the palate and nose, this has good acidity and tannins and a hint of C.Z.’s aquarium in the bouquet. B.D. also noted "lotsa spice," and the luscious, velvet mouthfeel impressed everyone. No one seemed to think it was too over the top to enjoy with food. The ‘96 doesn’t have the creamy oak that the previous model shows, or the density. Slightly lighter in body and color, with the same basic components in the flavor profile, the fruit is cleaner, more pure, with less of the "reduced" quality to it. It also went well with dinner. Afterwards, we retired to the bonfire down at the lake. This minstrel brought along a guitar and some harps, turning over the scribe duties to the Zinfan, since we’d started on the Howell Mountain Vineyard bottles. Unfortunately, no notes were taken on these; C.Z. was in the lake with Zinchick and The Director almost immediately, and after only a few tunes, so were B.D. and this Dolphin dad. By now, it was 10 PM, and it was hard to concentrate on anything but the beautiful setting and the wonderful camaraderie we were sharing, so perhaps we can be forgiven for this lapse. About all we can pass on is that the HMVs were well received and enjoyable, except for one corked ‘95. Perhaps they can be revisited in the future for a more accurate evaluation. Bree and this taster were the last stragglers to turn in on this wonderful evening of merriment. Everyone slept quite soundly, by all accounts.
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The ‘96 Sparrow Lane is an inky garnet that califusa described as
"a Turley clone; a jam-bo-ree," and it certainly is
that. There’s a lot of dense reduced raspberry fruit in this one, with some tannins
to resolve, and decent acidity. Though somewhat simpler than your average Turley, it still
performs nicely, and is very easy to enjoy.
I picked up some ‘95 and ‘96 D-cubed Howell Mountain Zins when we visited 
